PCMS

PCMS Group was proud to have climbed the tables in the 2012 Sunday Times Profit Track 100 by 32 places from #44 in 2011 to #12 in 2012.  To establish the growth rates of UK companies, the Sunday Times Profit Track analysed over 4 years’ accounts, with PCMS showing growth of an impressive 96%.

The Profit Track demonstrates that despite such a challenging economic backdrop, businesses can still perform well and succeed if they adopt the right strategies. Richard Heap, of the Sunday Times, comments:

“This year’s Profit Track 100 research reveals the variety of strategies behind businesses’ profit growth, including overseas expansion, tighter cost control, buying rival firms, and launching new products or services”.

Here at PCMS our impressive growth has indeed been achieved by implementing tighter cost controls, improving efficiencies at all levels of the company and generating more new business that is complementary to existing business both within the UK and through international expansion.   Alongside our improved efficiencies we have invested resources in further improving our services and solutions portfolio to ensure that existing customers will continue to benefit from the leading-edge technology that has helped to build the business so successfully since its humble beginnings in 1982.

Importantly, PCMS has always been and continues to be an independent, family run company that has proven it is possible to achieve continued success in a challenging economy.

Richard Goodall

Group Sales and Marketing Director

2011 continued to be a challenging year for retailers around the world, with the effects of the global recession still reverberating through our economies, it forced us to address efficiencies at every level of our organisations.   Here at PCMS Group, we invested heavily in our product suites, managed services, infrastructure and personnel, to provide a range of leading-edge technology solutions and services that enable us to help our customers maximise the performance of their business.

The team at PCMS has never been stronger which was reflected in our performance throughout 2011.  We are delighted to have welcomed a number of new clients from around the world across multiple retail sectors including Department Stores, Convenience, Fashion, Grocery, Books, Hospitality and Electrical Hardware.   Our successes have been recognised with our first appearance in the  Sunday Times Profit Track 100, continuing success in the RIS 2011 LeaderBoard and being named for the first time on the MSPMentor 100 list of the world’s top 100 managed service providers.

We held our first Global Software User Group in New York following this year’s NRF ‘Retail’s Big Show’ in January.  This was a prime opportunity for our customers to meet in one place and discuss the big issues in global retail, as well as updating eachother on their current IT projects.  The user group also enabled us to keep our customers informed on what PCMS is doing to ensure our technology remains at the forefront of retail solutions.  The user group was well received with customers from around the world including the UK, USA, Italy, Germany, South Africa and Australia joining us – many thanks go to all of our customers and partners who joined us for making the first meeting such a success.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our users and partners from around the world for their support in providing references and introductions which have contributed significantly to our continued success.

Richard Goodall

Group Sales and Marketing Director

Staff at PCMS Group are giving back to the local community this Christmas by assisting with the Coventry Open Christmas appeal run by charity Grab and Go.  PCMS staff have volunteered to spend  Christmas Eve and Christmas Day handing out boxed parcels of food, bedding and clothes, with a team from our Coventry based call centre at the heart of it.

PCMS  call centre telesales agent Carly Smith comments:  ‘I am involved with a number of charities outside of work.  When I saw Grab and Go needed volunteers I was keen to help out.  I mentioned it to some of the other agents and was delighted at how many came forward offering their support.  At such a busy time of year I am touched at how many people have given up their free time to support Grab and Go.’

The PCMS call centre has also begun to sell raffle tickets  to raise funds for this deserving cause with a number of great prizes on offer for those that buy tickets.   The call centre has also become a hub for the collection of donations of clothing, bedding, toiletries and food for those in need or without homes over the coming festive period.

Heather Ramon, customer call centre operations manager comments ‘I wanted to help out but prior commitments mean I am struggling for time, I am pleased with the list of key items which have been displayed around the building, I hadn’t realised the charity would need packs of new underwear but it makes sense this would be a key need.  By having the list I can donate some much needed items and know they will go to good use over Christmas.  I am incredibly proud of the efforts of everyone at PCMS and in the call centre, it reflects what a massive team spirit we have.’

PCMS would like to thank our staff for giving up their time to help such a deserving cause. For more information on the Coventry Open Christmas Appeal – or if you would like to help or donate, visit http://www.coventryopenchristmas.co.uk/

Heidi Coles

Business Development Executive

Start Ups Guest Blog of the week:  The One True Currency – How To Become Truly Influential Within Your Field – and why it pays off, is a thought provoking article.  It got me thinking about the  main values we have here at the PCMS customer call centre to develop our influence.

1.       Professionalism – much of the time we are the primary and often only point of contact for our clients’ customers.  We are the representatives of their brand and it is essential that we maintain their brand image as diligently as we would our own with a professional service experience.  All of the agents within our customer call centre receive extensive training before handling calls, but also at regular intervals to ensure that levels are consistent.  Regular training updates are scheduled for all of our teams, with follow ups, coaching and call monitoring so that we can ensure standards are maintained. We hold 1-2-1 sessions with all of our agents on a monthly basis as well as annual appraisals giving each of our agents the opportunity, all ensuring that the highest professional standards are reached.

2.      Quality and value – Quality delivery that offers value for money is an essential part of our customer call centre services.  Image maintenance is crucial for our clients as their customers call expecting great service; the quality of our teams is evident in the results of our customer satisfaction surveys, which score consistently high.

3.      Increased sales – the PCMS customer call centre has an excellent track record for increasing basket sizes and booking great appointments.  Our telemarketing and telesales services do not engage in pushy sales techniques but listen to the customer and make relevant suggestions of additional purchase. Our customer sales teams are second to none, they receive a lot of training to ensure they perform to the best of their ability on behalf of our clients.

4.      Partnership – At PCMS we have a culture of working in partnership with our clients to ensure that the service delivery is designed to get the results desired.  We have a working culture of being open and giving regular feedback to our clients, enabling the client to influence our working methodology and for us to influence theirs.  Our success is measure by your success and we believe that working in partnership is the only way to achieve the best results.

5.      Long term goals – At PCMS we take a long term view of our relationships with our clients; we believe that this allows both parties the time to develop the right service and brand knowledge.  Establishing a long term relationship means that your customers are secure in the knowledge that they will call through to an experienced customer call centre that knows your products and services as well as you do.  Great customer service is viral, if your customers are happy they spread the word!

Heidi Coles

Business Development Executive – PCMS Call Centre

Christmas demands on retailers have a massive impact on call volumes and sales.  PCMS offers specialist services supporting outbound and inbound calls over the Christmas period.  All agents are trained in customer services and increasing consumer basket size - contact us today for more details.

The busy festive period is the most profitable time of year for retail, but can place significant strain on supply infrastructures regardless of estate size.  As the UK’s leading independent supplier of software and services to the retail industry, having worked with some of the best loved brands in the world, our experience within the retail industry has helped us to create a portfolio of services designed to assist retailers during this busy, but profitable, time of year.

Many retailers find that they receive much higher levels of calls during the festive period, leading to call wait times becoming hard to control and ultimately, frustrated customers who may go elsewhere.  Many retailers often find they could benefit from extra resources on a temporary basis to manage this seasonal peak of inbound calls, as well as engaging in an outbound campaign to boost sales even further.

Our Coventry based call centre is here to help retailers, in alignment with our unique position as an expert in the retail industry we can provide a range of services that help ease the pressure.

The PCMS call centre offers a range of inbound and outbound services to assist retailers.  Our inbound team can offer a range of services to suit your specific needs, from handling overflow calls during busy periods, additional lines or hours of service, a fully managed sales order line or a customer service helpline. PCMS outbound services could help you gain a Christmas sales boost with a telemarketing or telesales campaign.

All our agents are trained to achieve excellence in the provision of customer service; the PCMS call centre achieves consistently high customer satisfaction scores and you can have confidence in our team representing your brand.  Our agents are trained to listen carefully and make relevant suggestions to increase basket size, without using pushy sales techniques that may turn off your customers.

The PCMS call centre offers tailor-made and fully scalable packages to suit your business needs, contact us today for more information on our festive support services.

Melinda Richardson

Marketing Assistant

In recent years there has been a significant change within the call centre and outsourcing industries for large businesses to move away from offshoring and bring their call centres and outsourced functions back into the UK.  In 2008, HSBC moved 250 jobs back into the UK;  in 2009 AXA moved 600 roles back into the UK from offshore and just last week Santander announced that they are bringing 500 agent roles back into the UK from India.  In June the Financial Times published an article “Private Sector Backtracks on Offshoring” which significantly demonstrates the move away from cost driven offshored customer service and contact centres.

This is part of a growing trend in customer service and outsourcing provision; the focus is moving away from cost-led decisions based on the cheaper staffing costs available in other parts of the world and acknowledging the brand damage incurred by  poor levels of customer service and consumer frustration.  In 2009 the Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned that firms with offshore call centres posed a high financial crime risk as a result of poor staff vetting.  With high levels of frustration reported by consumers, the tolerance of consumers has been waning considerably.

Many businesses are now acknowledging that the low cost shipping out of customer service functions to other economies has done more harm than good, the advertising and PR needed to counterbalance the brand damage is significant; it no longer makes financial sense to offshore vital customer contact roles.

Many businesses are now advertising UK only call centres and outsourcing partners as a selling point for their services.  Whilst outsourcing of these functions is still being handed to specialist call centres, the emphasis on quality and consumer perception has once again become paramount.

This is great news for the UK call centre industry and a chance for us to demonstrate what we can offer businesses, offshoring may provide a cheap alternative to the UK but tends to offer very process driven services.

PCMS Group whilst best known for our retail software systems, also operates a UK only call centre providing outsourced services, based in Coventry we offer a value proposition with high levels of customer service at the forefront.   With operational costs being more competitive in the Midlands than in the South East, combined with our extensive knowledge of retail we are pleased to see that the private sector is beginning to realise the benefits of the talent available in the UK and that price should not always be the primary decision maker when considering any outsourced functions.

Once a brand has been damaged through a poor choice of outsourcing partner, it is costly to repair – making the right decision longterm has never been more important.

Melinda Richardson

This year’s Comic Relief night went on without a hitch and the event was bigger than ever here at PCMS, with more volunteers joining us in our contact centre to handle donation calls than ever before.

The total that PCMS volunteers raised on the phones reached £64,386.00 and our volunteers handled an astounding 1745 calls over the course of the evening. In addition to the donations handled on the phones, PCMS staff also raised the amount of £1,112.85 through a dress down day, raffle and other activities all in the name of ‘do something funny for money’.

Volunteers were involved from across the company and the local community and we were thrilled to receive a visit from ‘Sky Blue Sam’ the Coventry City Football Club mascot who came to cheer us all on and draw the raffle. Food and refreshments were kindly donated for our volunteers by a number of local businesses and suppliers and we are extremely thankful to all of them for supporting us.

The Comic Relief team at PCMS worked tirelessly to organise this voluntary event for the fifth time and everyone at PCMS is extremely proud of what they have achieved. Thanks go out to all of the people who donated raffle prizes, refreshments or their time to make this event such a success.

Melinda Richardson

Marketing Assistant